Rain
by Adicus Langley
Summary: A God's story always has a beginning.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **After re-reading this story for the unknown'th time I wanted to work on it and improve it a little. I hope you enjoy! This takes place before Mass Effect 1.

* * *

A night of cold rain trickled down all around her.

The frigid cold that threatened to pierce through her body was aided by the heavy humidity that clung in the air like sludge. The moisture made her black cargo pants sloth against her legs. Her red cloak was so drenched that its color was closer to redwood than crimson. Her soaked combat boots clopped against the slick pavement.

Her body carried her towards the unknown. She was wandering down the dimly lit streets and didn't care where she went, but her steaming pace slowed as she looked around at her surroundings.

All about her the dirty street was clogged with people bustling in and out of small shops, cantinas, and what she could only describe as establishments. Beggars sat on the edges of the filthy sidewalk trying their best to stay out of the pouring rain. They asked for money or food from passers by, but they paid her no heed. No one paid her any mind as she made her way deeper in to the gloomy street.

It had been 20 years since First Contact, but still her people were treated an unhealthy air of suspect and distain by the other societies of the Galactic community.

_Not even the beggars acknowledge us._ She mused sourly. _At least it will take the MPs awhile to find me._ She smiled bitterly.

The air smelled of burned fuel mixed with feces and rotting garbage. The Alliance had built a garrison 'base' to support their embassy near the Capitol of Kaltic on the Planet of Tanus. But the Turians who dominated the world would only allow the base near the shanty district. As such the Alliance had tried to become a peace keeping and law force for the area. Not that it had done any good due to red tape and politics. The Turians had never wasted one opportunity to remind the Alliance, that Humans were still new comers to the greater community, and as such, second class.

She trudged lost in the fog of her mind, water pooling around her feet as she moved forward. She was relishing the freedom that the moment in time had granted her. For a moment she was unknown, a ghost, nothing but a figment of a memory to any who passed her by. Her ears caught the sound of blaring music from a near by cantina and she drifted over to listen.

The music was old and unfashionable, but at the same time it was cheery. She drew closer to the entrance where a Volus stood leaning against the door, and she stood behind him peering over his dwarfish form. Like her, he too was looking inward at the spectacle of the room.

The Cantina was old. Just how old she couldn't guess, but the tables and chairs were worn. The bartenders still poured drinks of all kinds from containers rather than from a single distributor. People of all species packed the space, talking, dancing and laughing, but at the same time there was not one human to be seen.

As the warm air rushed out of the room and in to the cold of the night of the street she shivered and drew her cloak closer around her. It was then that the Volus noticed her. He jumped forward in surprise and turned to look up at her as he backed inside the cantina to get away from her. His masked face displayed to her nothing of his personality but it didn't need to as he quickly slipped in to the cantina grasped the open door.

"Your Kind is not welcome here!" He yelled as he threw the door in to her face. The wall slammed heavily against her sight, and she was once again out in the cold and the filth.

Rage boiled to the surface as she clinched her fists. They pulsed with her blood and energy. She felt like ripping the door off it's hinges and slamming that bigot across the room.

_No... he's not worth my ire._ She seethed as she tried to calm her emotions.

She tore her self away from the sordid establishment and continued on her aimless journey in to the night. Her surroundings became even more decrepit as she continued on. Figures moved in shadow all around her. Talking in whispers, handling deals. Tanus was solidly in Citadel Space, but was close enough to the Terminus Systems that the black market thrived. For this slum it was the only market. Any thing could be had. From food and shelter, to red rand and slaves. Most would never have ventured where she had by choice, but she did not care.

There was no fear with her, only anger. The hunger still present. A desire to crush, to dominate, to master any who dare stand against her. The lust was the same that she had desired for years to fulfill. The same lust she had fed just a month before.

The rain falling on the tin and plastic roof tops created a staccato that resembled the roiling and ragging of a fire.

_It wasn't enough._ She sneered as she looked at her cold, wet hands.

Matching the desire she had was an insurmountable feeling of self loathing. _What am I? What have I become?_

The operation had been a disaster from the start. Intelligence had failed spectacularly and there had been far more Slaver and Pirate ships in orbit around the moon than had been expected. The Alliance 'Fleet' had been made up of 1 carrier, 2 cruisers, and three frigates. The ensuring brawl had been murderous, but by the end of the fight, the Alliance held air and space superiority by default with their remaining Cruiser and Frigate.

Her comm beeped and she quickly answered it. "Lieutenant. I understand that the Major has suffered a mental break and is not longer fit for duty. I understand if you refused this field commission..." The voice was calm, tense, but measured. It rang of experience, and caution.

"No. I'll get the job done. What are my orders?" She responded sharply.

But the Alliance wanted to make an example, to send a message, what ever the cost. So they had sent her.

Most of the drop shuttles that had been launched were blown out of the air either by anti-air guns, or remaining enemy fighters. So here she was, on a godforsaken paradise of a waste in space. But the Alliance wanted to make an example, to send a message, what ever the cost. So they had sent her.

"Neutralize the base. Your in command now Lieutenant." The voice said firmly, but with a tinge of regret.

"Understood Admiral." She said and then her comm fell silent.

"Corporal Zerella! Do we have any air support?" She yelled as sniper rounds rang through the air above her head."

The marines were blind firing in to the forest in vain as a response to the snipers.

"No Ma'am! The Capetown is gone! Suicide run by the last of the enemy's fighters. All hands lost! And the SSV Black Forrest, and Lakewood are unable to assist!" He screamed as he fired into the forest.

The small fleet had bombarded the moon taking out every landing pad, bunker and Slaver encroachment on the ground. Herding them like rats to their compound. But the Slavers and Pirates would not go quietly and their own surface based weapons had neutralized the Alliance's remaining orbital threat.

She could hear Slavers screaming, yelling commands.

They were close. Too close. But that didn't matter.

Her face was twisted in rage. _There goes Plan A_.

All around her was wreckage and ruin tangled in the thick growth of the forest. The pitiful excuse for even a moon had a terra-formed atmosphere thick enough to support the tangled mess of a forest. A forest grown to conceal and shelter.

Yet so close. She were so close. The enemy compound was just two klicks away!

"Corporal give me some News!" She roared.

"Heavy concentration of snipers all the way to the compound. Other fire teams have taken heavy casualties and have pulled back past their drop zones. Four Makos are down!"

"Well fuck! What are we supposed to do? Wait for the bastards to come to us?" One marine piped up.

"I say we either pull back and regroup with the rest of the fire teams, or wait for back up!" another yelled.

She turned to face him and pulled her handgun on him. "You do that, and I will shoot you myself! We have a job to do!"

The Marine focused on death's instrument that was aimed at him. Sweat dripped down his face. "What are your orders..." He responded terrified.

She took some omnigel and threw it over the earthen mound like a grenade. The mucus like metallic sludge splattered across a thicket of growth. She then took her shotgun and fired three successive incendiary rounds in the direction of the mess. The gel immediately caught fire like napalm and started to torch the area. The Slavers screamed again and she could hear foot steps falling away in haste as the fire spread.

"I want this forest raised to the ground! If you see a slaver I want it dead. If you see one of fire, save your ammo and let it burn."

The dug in marines at first look dumbstruck by her command.

"You can either torch this fucking hell of a forest or you can stay. You can either move forward or you can die. Its your choice." She said with venom.

Then they started to follow suite throwing small containers of omnigel and lighting it on fire.

With in the hour the screaming of the fire mixed with the yelling and screams of the slavers and pirates as it over took them. Thunder roiled above her head as the smoke and fumes rose above. Soon rain would come and put out the firestorm. Then it was on to her objective.

All she had to do was wait.

[][][][][]

Thunder boomed and the intensity of the rain increased around her. She hugged the eves and tattered awnings which feigned to provide some cover from the down pour. She stood underneath a sulking porch. The wall of water made it nearly impossible to see to the other side.

She was also not the only being seeking reprieve from the storm under the ledge.

She saw two Turians, a Volus and a Salarian huddled around a heater and listening intently to a news terminal. Curiosity got the better of her as she edged quietly closer near the group. But as she heard the story blare from the terminal her blood ran cold.

"...An Alliance official commented earlier today that the clean up on the moon of Torfan has been complete. A month ago the Alliance conducted a crushing assault on the slave bands which were stationed there. The Alliance has stated that the strike was in retaliation for the repulsed attack on the Human Colony of Elysium just a few years ago and the strike was lead by..."

The report was interrupted by the Volus. "As if we needed to be reminded. The Alliance has been using that assault as propaganda coup to their benefit ever since!"

The Salarian quickly slithered over to the heater and went about trying to soak some warmth into his hands. "Do you guys remember the Last Chance? The bar I worked at?

"You mean the one you got fired from a week ago for giving a Turian an overdose in his drink?" One of the Turian's said amusingly.

"He asked for it." The Salarian shot back.

"Wait I thought you said you gave him a human drink by accident and that's why he kacked." The other said probingly.

The Salarian glowered at both of them. "That's not the point!"

"Then what is the point then?" The Volus piped up irritated by the cold and his bickering associates.

The Salarian ignored the Volus' tone. "One night I had a group of Alliance Soldiers jam into the bar."

The Turians backed away from the heater in disinterest to lounge against the wall. "What's new about that? Alliance always have crowded the Last Chance. Damn Humans think they own the place." One of them shrugged.

"Yeah, but this lot was different. They didn't come for the drinks, or look for a quick mate. They seemed to come in to forget."

"So? I drink sometimes to forget." The Volus piqued in.

"That explains a lot." One of the Turian's retorted. The Volus waved a brush-off in his direction and the Turians continued to laugh.

"Yeah. But this was different... The group was talking about an Officer. They called her a butcher.." The Salarian said cautiously as if Death was close by.

The Turian who had been silent the entire time rolled his eyes. "Yuris and I called our commanders worse when we were in. How is this even related?"

"I think the group was on Torfan." The Salarian said, his voice still quiet.

"Aw come off it. Your sounding as if the Butcher of Torfan really exists. The Humans are just like the Krogan. They love their verbose and 'scary' names. I'm sure they all drank a round in the 'Butcher's' honor." The Turian continued in distain.

"Yeah. Sure. If you call fear, curses, and threats drinking to honor." The Salarian responded flippantly. "By the end of the night more than one said they would desert before serving under the Butcher of Torfan."

"Well whatever. The humans take out a simple pirate base and now they think their tough." The other Turian's spoke up. "It took the Council to intervene years ago during the conflict after the Relay 314 incident. And for what? To have a new 'pet' like the Hanar or the Elcor."

"Careful what you say, Turian. The Hanar and the Elcor don't have homebuilt dreadnaughts like you do." A low rumble came from the dark corner.

She focused on the source of the voice. It took her eyes a moment to perceive the unmistakable form of a Krogan who had been overhearing the group's conversation.

He stalked forward to the group. "Torfan was not a soft target. Underestimating the Humans is a mistake." He growled.

"Since when did the Krogan become Human lovers?" Spat the Volus.

"I do not dismiss the humans as lightly as you do." The Krogan lumbered over to tower above him. "But then you don't have to worry about fighting do you? You just go and hide under the Turian's coattails."

The Turians growled and one reached inside his coat. The other quickly accosted his arm. The Krogan had seen it all and turned his attention to them.

"Your lucky on two counts." He said as he drew close. The Turian's just glowered at him. "First is you didn't draw your weapon. Second is that I'm to tired to kill you for the fun of it."

The Turian who had gone for the weapons growled, but his companion gave him a rebuking shove in the shoulder.

The Krogan just gave them both a wicked smile as he turned his back to walk away. The giant Lizard started to walk in her direction. At first she thought it was by pure chance he was heading in her direction, but she soon realized that he was looking directly in to her eyes. She hadn't dealt much with Krogan in a 'civil' setting and her hand twitched by reflex to her side groping for a sidearm that wasn't there. Yet she kept her exterior cool, and held her gaze steady.

"Humm..." He purred with satisfaction. "Your the first warrior I've seen all night." He sniffed at her. "And one that has been blooded too. So far I've only ran into those who are lost and stupid." He said solidly. "Let me by." It was not a request, but a command.

There was plenty of room for him to pass by her, and she gave him no ground.

The Krogan pushed by her making sure to knock hard in to her shoulder. The hit forcefully shoved her into the wall and in turn gave the Krogan her ear.

"Careful lady. Your stubbornness will get you killed one day." He said with a chuckle as he lumbered into the downpour of the night.

She watched him go. _I'm not stubborn. Just driven._

"Montoya! Bring in your squad and form up on me! O'Mally, Osuka! Makos out in front, and be ready to open fire on my mark." She spoke calmly.

"Understood." Was the line of calls that came to her.

Rain steadily fell around them as the fire subsided. The atmosphere couldn't have sustained the beast for any longer, and everything within a two klick radius around the compound had been burned asunder. Nothing within the inferno's grasp had escaped it's fury.

Slowly they made their way forward. The terrain around her was smoking, fumes pouring to the sky. More than one of the marines in her unit had lost their stomachs as they walked by the chard and twisted remains of slavers that had been caught in the blaze. But she moved them all forward as they trudged through mug and drew closer to the burned mound of metal before them.

It was silent. All around them was an eerie dead quiet.

And so it began. Corporal Zorrell collapsed to his knees in the mud. A shot had gone cleanly through his head.

"Snipers!" One Marine yelled as others took hits. The squad hit the dirt as more rounds went by.

"O'Mally! Osuka! Light these bastards up!" She yelled in her comm.

The two Makos suddenly unleashed a hailstorm of cannon and machine gun fire all the way to the compound. Charred and muddy ground exploded from the high velocity cannon rounds, and machine gun rounds caused what was left of the ashen trees to splinter and dust.

The torrent went on for what seems like 20 minuets.

"Hold fire!" She commanded, and the Mako's guns fell silent.

All was quiet again. She took in a deep breath and stood up. Her squad look up at her as if she had gone insane.

"What the fuck is she doing? Does she want to die?" one said to another.

_C'mon you bastards. Here I am. This is the best opportunity your going to get! _She blared in her mind.

Yet nothing happened, except the rain the kept showering down and the gut wrenching smell of smoke and chard flesh that hung heavy in the air.

"Move forward." She commanded. The Makos started to trudge forward, the marines following closely. Just half a kilometer to go.

Then Hades opened it's maw again as rockets from the compound tore into Osuka's Mako setting it a blaze and sending shrapnel flying.

And it was still raining.

She looked up at the group of beings that had taken notice of the apparition that had been in their midst. They were silent, but each of their expressions were telling.

_Just leave us in peace. Please..._

She quickly gathered the water soaked cloak around her face again and stole in to the night.


	2. Chapter 2

She ran down the streets and alleys as if she was being followed. She came crashing to a halt as her lungs screamed for air. She listened closely for any sign of pursuit.

She shook her head as her eyes cried out for rest, and her stomach growled for food. When had she last slept? Eaten? Days? She trudged forward. The section of the Slum she was in now was even dimmer than the last. Shadows both large and small fled as she drew near. As she continued on, the lines and rows of buildings began to take on an uncomfortably familiar feel.

The shops were rundown, their streets dirty, but something screamed at her that she had been here before. The air smelled of sea salt and pine trees.

"Hey Fall!" A boy's voice called out to her. And her head snapped to the left and she could not comprehend what she was seeing. A boy, age seventeen with sandy blond hair wearing a red tee-shirt and worn jeans was smiling to her. He was leaning against the wall next to an Alliance Recruiting poster. She knew him...

She walked over to him. "Mitch?" She asked aghast.

"Yeah. Who else?" The boy smile back. "I just got done meeting with Staff Sergeant Mc'Connahey. Thanks to you I'm going to pass English lit and be able to get in to the Marines!" His face lit up like a Christmas tree.

An impeccably dressed Alliance Marine walked out and gently put his hand on the boy's Shoulder. "So this must be the fine young lady you have told me about Mitchell."

The boy just beamed with admiration and respect. The Marine looked at her and smiled warmly. " You know the Alliance needs intelligent women like you."

She blushed and smiled but replied, "I have a scholarship to attend the University of Serrice on Thessia after next year for part of my college. I'm thinking of majoring in linguistics."

The Marine's smile did not waver. "All the more reason to think about joining the Alliance Navy after you graduate from college. From what Mitchell has told me, you would make a fantastic officer."

Her head dropped down and blushed from the compliment, but when she looked back up they were gone. The sunlit store front now replaced by a decrepit relic, the Alliance recruitment poster replaced by alien graffiti scrawling. A tremor ran thought her. She hadn't thought about Mitch, hadn't let that memory of that day escape in _years_.

_Keep it locked away you stupid bitch! Keep it locked!_ She screamed at herself.

She turned away and continued to walk in the rain. She shivered uncontrollably from the cold and again her eyes roved for some place to take solace. They fell upon a queer looking building. It's architecture resembled the other buildings around it. Simple, cobbled together, and rundown. But unlike others, it looked like it's caretakers at least tried to maintain some kind of upkeep, and it's door was opened invitingly. As she neared she heard voices, aliens...

She slammed her shoulder against one side of the door. O'Mally was on the other side. Six hours had passed since they had started their assault on the compound. Osuka's squad had been wiped-out by anti-vehicle rockets and mines. O'Mally had barely escaped his own Mako and Montoya's squad had been paired down to just four marines. Her own numbered just six. But here they were.

The compound was deathly silent. Glass crunched under boots as the remaining marines who could fight took up their posts ready for the final push. They were lined up on either side of the wall making sure the Slavers didn't have an easy shot through the open doorway.

She stuck her shotgun in through the door and shot four rounds wildly. She was greeted by the sound of clattering weapons.

"Do it." She commanded. _I want to see their faces!_

Montoya threw in a gas grenade to drive them out.

"We! ...We surrender!" A coughing cry rang out from the darkened room. And almost immediately ten slavers and Pirates came running out. The Leaders had hid like rats.

"Open fire!" She screamed as she fired on the unarmed pack and they wheeled around unable to see behind them. The marines hesitantly followed her lead and the ten collapsed to the ground.

A moment after the slaughter, one last Slaver, a Batarian came running out of the room. He slammed to his knees shaking, but unscathed. He couldn't move, he was riveted with fear as she stalked up on him like the Grim Reaper.

"Wh...Why? We Surrendered..." He asks weakly. She looked at him, and remembered her mother...

"Surrendered? I didn't hear it..." Her voice was as cold as death itself.

"Pl..Please...have Mercy..." he begged.

"Mercy?" She gave him none as she slammed her heal into his back sprawling him out.

The slaver groaned, and he twisted his head to look at her, his face slathered with mud and filth. All he saw in her face was twisted rage and sorrow. She fired her hand cannon at the back of his head. His body slumped back to the ground.

But rather then feeling relief, she felt numb. Nothing...

Lighting crossed and sky and thunder crashed down. She was slumped down by the door way, as she looked at her trembling hands.

_At least I got the job done..._ She thought as her hands still trembled. _Numb...Butcher..._ Her mind creaked again.

She looked up to see two beings walk out of the building and pass her without taking any notice that she was even there. She deftly stood up and slipped in.

Once inside, the room was dimly lit, but was warm. She looked to her right and noticed a row of pegs with coat, hoods and cloaks hanging. Below them were shoes and boots. She saw and empty one and took her soaked cloak off, and taking the queue, also removed her soaked combat boots. As she did so the warmth of the room started to seep in to her. The building was quiet.

She pushed her wet locks away from her face and ears. The building she was in seemed to call to her, to invite her further in. She cautiously started forward, not certain what to expect. Was this a place of shelter? Or an alluring temptation?

"John...what will happen to her?" A mother's voice spoke with concern.

She pressed forward, creeping silently up to the cracked door. The opening cascading a stream of light down the dark hallway.

"She will be fine Norana." This is a chance for her beyond anything either of us have ever had." A fathers voice answered back with warmth and love. He was tall, with a fiery head of red hair and matching short beard. He wore a pair of kaki utility pants and a tunic of dark blue.

"I know...but she is just sixteen." The woman said. She was beautiful. Tall and slender, her raven hair veiled with a dark green head covering. But her eyes where what caught everyone's attention. They were an electrifying shade of emerald.

"Her flare-ups are getting worse..." The father said pleadingly. "Up to the point where she can't hide them, and others are taking notice. I had a guy, said he was from a foundation that could help her with her 'condition'." The man's face contorted into anger. "He even tried to offer me money for her." He said in disgust.

The mother started to tremble in shock. "I wish Sid'iri was there."

"I told him to get out, because if I saw him again I'd brake his nose. No one refers to my child like she is sick. She if fine. She is perfect." He said clinching his hands.

His wife walked over and took one of his fists in to her gentle, soft hands. He looked up and into her emerald eyes.

"Norana. Having her grow up here has been a blessing. But I won't have our daughter cloistered here or persecuted just because she is different. She deserves this scholarship and this opportunity."

"I don't doubt that at all John, but I don't know how the greater world will take to her. I don't like the idea of her going to spend two years at an Asari University." Her eyes darted away, and her husband gave her a quizzical look. But then he sported a mischievous grin.

"Afraid one of them might take to her a little too much?"

She let out a snort and slapped him lightly on the shoulder, smiling back thankful that her husband could always keep things on a light measure. "Its not that. Its just the other people of the Galaxy haven't been so inviting of us."

"I know Angel. But with all things, its takes time and a new point of view. We haven't been the best of neighbors ourselves." He gently collected his wife in to his arms. "It is our children and theirs which will correct such unfounded fears."

His wife gave him a playful smirk. "Nice to see I'm finally rubbing off on you, _Mr. Alliance._"

"Now I never said that the Alliance was wrong..." he slinked back..

She playfully pushed back from him. "Oh your so stubborn!" She cried smiling as he gathered her against him laughing softly.

"She will be fine." He cooed.

"I know John." She warmly replied.

[][][][][]

Warm air caressed her face as her focus sharpened in brighter light streaming from the fabric drapes. She pressed forward and stepped deftly in to mazed room. It was still dimly light, but had more light to see by. The walls and ceiling were a soft, dark shade of purple, and the clean rug she was walking on was a soft light blue. Every corner and nook held a sculpture of Asari. Some were just of an individual, others were of a mother and child, and others were of two, or more Asari intertwined in a carnal fashion. She slowly walked around, looking at each piece. Her eyes finally settled on one near the end of the maze.

It was a simple facial bust of an Asari from the top of the shoulders up. The material resembled alabaster, but it was the features that had captured her attention. The face, or rather the lack of one. It had a nose, and the tentacle head crest was the signature to the Asari. But the face contained no expression, the simple mounds for eyes which held no life. A thin lined mouth that spoke of nothing.

"This piece draws you in doesn't it." A warm voice called from behind her.

She quickly turned her head over her shoulder to see an Asari behind her.

The Asari was dressed in a light gray dress the hugged to the curves of her body, but also concealed her in a pious nature. Roped across the top of her chest by three chains of pearls to the left and a single gold chain to the right was a three pointed star of ruby. Her head covered by a simple cloth of white. She concluded that the Asari was a Priestess, and looked to be around the age of 50. But she also knew that the Asari must have been much older than that. Perhaps 600?

"Don't worry. I mean you no harm." The Asari said with warmth and sincerity. "I've been watching you since you entered."

_Why the fuck did I let my guard down! _She berated herself. But then she relaxed, and went back to looking at the bust, and the Asari cautiously approached closer.

"Every pilgrim who finds their way here also finds an image of the Goddess that reflects them. But I have seen few of your kind come here, and even then fewer pilgrims choose that piece."

She was silent as she continued to look at the nameless effigy. She heard the Asari pass behind her, but felt that she needed to look at the Asari again. The priestess was holding open a curtain to another room with a look that beckoned her forward, and she followed.

The new room she was in was filled with exotic tapestries and wood panels giving the room a rich, warm and inviting feeling. The tapestries held images of an Asari as a child, a young woman, and a Matriarch. The room held pillows for sitting, or praying and the far end held hundreds of candles, most of them unlit cascading up like steps.

She noticed another Asari, her skin the color of coral suddenly look up at the new guests. The Asari quickly put out the lit candles and fled.

Her eyes followed the retreating Asari till she was gone from view. _What was that about?_ She mused to herself.

She then noticed the Priestess standing near the rows of candles.

"What is your name? Who are you?" The Priestess asked calmly.

"I'm nobody." She responded tersely.

The reply did not deter the calm nature of the Priestess. "Ah you are one of many that I have seen as of late then. But flame will tell your true person." The Asari held out a lit long candle lighter to her.

At first she didn't want to take it. But something in the Asari's face still beckoned her to do so.

She stepped forward and lit three candles that were widely spaced. At the same time the Priestess lit incense that started to fill the room. She looked over to where the Asari stood and the Priestess motioned for her to kneel on one of the close pillows. She complied.

_This is ridiculous..._ her mind seethed.

"Now relax. Take deep calm breaths." The Priestess spoke.

As first her body rebelled to do so.

"Relax..." The Asari spoke again.

And then her breath did so.

"Breathe in and out calmly. Empty your mind." Came a voice as the world started to flow away from her.

She heard the gentle voice of the sea.

She started to sense the smell of the ocean. Of the pine forests near her home.

Of smoke, and fire...

"Slip in to the embrace of the Goddess."

The flames of the candles called to her. Their warmth radiating out to her like an early fall's sun. Other candles around them started to break in to flame as the scents of the sea, of the forest near where she had grown up drew in to her.

As the smell of buildings and bodies burning started to fill her.

Screams filled the air as people were pulled from their homes, from their businesses. They were being shot. Families were being split and young children were thrown in to cages.

Slavers swarmed like locusts. She saw Mitch again, fall to his knees with a hole in his head. Again fire consumed his body as they burned him.

There was nothing left to bury, nothing to hold on to remember him by...

...he was gone. Her friend. Her student was gone...Again.

She ran to her home that was just a stones throw beyond the town. She had to get there. She had to see her family. She had to get them out!

...but she was too late...

She saw her father. The tall muscular man that was her father thrown against the side of her home shot twice in the chest and left for dead. The Slavers disappeared in to the house.

"DAD!" She screamed as she continued to run. Her cries were never heard as the roar of fire consumed the colony behind her.

_No! Not again! He can't die again! _ Her mind screamed.

She scrambled over the picket fence. She heard screaming and shots fired from the house. And she froze by the shed. Then voices and foot steps crept out as Slavers left the house to look around the property. She slipped in to the shed and quickly climbed up to the loft and pulled the ladder up.

_C'mon! C'mon! Hurrying it up before they catch you!_

She quickly found the ancient shotgun her father and taught her to use, and fumbling she slid two slug rounds and as quietly as she could locked the chamber.

Two Slavers entered the shed and started to look around.

_Don't look up you sons of a bitch...Don't look up! _Her mind pleaded.

She aimed at them. The shotgun shaking in her arms. Her finger trembling as it reached for the trigger. But then a woman's screams pierced her concentration and froze her.

_The screaming wouldn't stop..._

A gun shot rang out, and then all was deathly quiet. When she regained her focus. The Slavers were gone. She waited, and listened.

Nothing.

Cautiously she crept down. Still clutching the gun in hand she slink around to the back of the house. She couldn't face the body of her father. She just couldn't!

_I can't see him again...Not like that!_

She entered the kitchen...

_No...Not here! Not again!_

...and lying on the floor was her mother, shot. Her clothes torn and evident as to what had happened to her. She dropped the gun and ran crying to the body. She clutched her cooling mother to her. She rocked her back and forth pleading for her to come back.

Sobbing.

The floors creaked, and she looked up. Leaning heavily on the kitchen's door was a Batarian. Murder was on his hands. Rape in his eyes.

She kicked away from the body back peddling as he stumbled forward. His movements were slurred and slow. She saw the bite marks on his neck and knew what had gotten him.

But he was still very much alive...

He dove for her and grabbed one of her feet pulling her to him. She screamed and kicked at his face. blood rained down from his broken nose and mouth, but rather then break his hold it enraged him more.

"Filthy girl... I'm going to break you!" He screamed as he pulled her to him. He heaved her up and slammed her against the counter top knocking the wind from her. He pinned her by grabbing her hair with one of his hands and proceeded to tear at her top and at the pants buckle.

_NO! NO!_ her mind screamed as she groped for something. Anything!

Her hand found a steak knife and she jabbed him in the side with it. He screamed and pulled her hair more and she in turn plunged the knife deeper between his ribs.

NO! She screamed as she let lose a wave of biotic energy blasting him off her. Not a moment later his head blew apart, plastering her with blood and gore. She looked shocked as the headless body that slumped against the far wall and then looked to the door way.

Slumped against it was her father. His shirt bloody, his face deathly pale, a hand cannon slipping out of his hand. It clattered to the floor. She went to him.

_I won't save you..._

She kneeled down next to him.

_But I had to try._

She took off her shirt, leaving just her sports bra on, and she tore it trying to make a bandage for him.

"No...El...No." Her father said gasping for air. She didn't say anything, but kept trying to bandage him.

"I failed...I failed you..." He gasped.

"No, you didn't dad. Just don't leave me!" She pleaded as she tried in vain to get the bleeding to stop.

"They didn't...come...but they promised...didn't come..." He heaved and tears started to fall from his face.

"Just hang on dad...please!" She cried.

She heard a vehicle pull up. Both her and her father looked to the front door, and heard Alien voices again

"El...Get out...Get out of here!" Her father said using what strength he had to push her back.

"I'm not leaving you!" She screamed as she tried to rush towards him again, but then he did the unthinkable.

He raised the hand cannon at her. "Better...to be dead...then enslaved..." He said, the weapons shaking in his hand.

The sounds outside had grown louder.

"RUN!" Her father screamed as he shot the gun above her head, and she flew out of the house clutching the shotgun as she vaulted over the fence.

She heard more shots come from the house behind her as she tripped and fell in to the near by field. She looked up towards the burning town.

_I thought I saw salvation..._

Two Alliance Garrison gunships came streaking in, weapons blazing. She jumped up and started waving her hands screaming. "HELP! PLEASE HELP ME! DOWN HERE!"

But four Slaver fighters were on their tails and knocked them down. She watched one fall in to the sea, the other slammed in to the forested hillside just 500 meters away. Fire exploded from the forest and she crashed to her knees in the field sobbing.

_I was wrong..._

She keeled to the side. Heaving, sobbing as her sense came back to her. Sweat was pouring from her head, and tears streamed from her eyes.

"You have kept that buried for a long time..." The Priestess spoke, still standing away from her. Her face held the look of suspect.

"Fuck you..." Is all she could get out.

The Priestess walked towards her, ignoring the girl's outburst and looked at the three burning candles. "Rage. Despair. Vengeance. Powerful places they are, dark. All consuming."

"I thought in time I would...would let it go." She gritted still heaving.

"Time?" The Priestess laughed mirthfully. "All that time does is provide distance. It heals nothing, young 'nobody'."

She clinched her teeth, and fists shut. Straining her eyes and she screamed with her mouth closed as if her body was on fire.

"You are not who you say you are, young 'nobody'. You have fed this ghoul already."

She just shook and trembled, but listened to the Priestess's words.

"Use this knowledge that the Goddess has given you. You know the loss you have experienced. You know the pain you have caused. Use it to spare others your fate, and the fates of those you knew." The Asari said acidly.

She trembled again as she began to collect herself from the floor. She rubbed the tears from her emerald eyes and brushed the red locks from her head. She looked over to where the other Asari had been.

"What were the other Asari's candles?" She asked as she stood up.

The Priestess walked casually over and looked at the still cooling wax. "Freedom. Salvation. Interesting..."

"I should go." She said still trying to get herself under control.

"You don't do have to go tonight. The ones you are running from will not find you here, and it will be morning soon." The Priestess said consolingly.

"No. I have taken enough of your time." She said as she walked forward. She looked back at the Asari. "Thank you..." she said and then vanished.


	3. Chapter 3

The rain had stopped. The skies had begun to clear, and the night was waxing into the new day, but still she wandered. She was hungry, but that didn't stop her. She didn't know why but her steps lured her down narrow alley ways, and empty streets, away from the main drag she had followed just hours ago.

"You went there! I told you never to go back to that filthy place!" A sinister voice echoed down the narrow street hall she was crossing.

"No Please!" A woman cried out.

She stopped dead in her tracks.

A loud crack of a slap echoed out and she began to track it to the perpetrator.

"Who did you talk to! Who saw you? You little blue whore!" The voice screamed again.

"Nnn..Nobody!" The woman screamed again.

She finally found the location of the commotion, and noticed that it was not a human woman crying out, but an Asari. The same Asari she had seen flee from the makeshift temple just hours earlier. Standing over the cringing creature was an albino Truian with black facial markings and eyes. He was dressed in black leathers with a matching trench coat.

"Stop it!" She yelled out, and the Turian backed away from his assault to see who had accosted his moment.

"What do we have here? A little human? Why don't you run along and get lost." He said with venom. He looked back at the Asari lying in the alley. "Did that see you there?" He roared at the stricken creature kicking it.

"No!" The Asari cried out in pain.

The Turian's assault was stopped when a flying brick hit his shoulder. He roared and turned his seething attention back to her.

"Now that I have you full attention. I said stop."

"Why." The Turian growled flexing his talons. They were sharp, reinforced with steel. "She is my slave. I can do as I please with her."

"Slavery is illegal here. It's illegal in Citadel space." She said acidly back, her stance changed, she was getting ready for him. All she needed to do was wait.

"And what are you going to do? Report me to the fucking Alliance?" He laughed. "I would be free in hours, and take my slave with me back to Terminus. Who do you think you are."

She smiled like a viper. "I am your worst nightmare. Let her go." She said icily, narrowing her eyes at him. Her hands glowed blue.

The Asari still moaned in pain laying on the Alley. The Turian turned and looked at the creature as if the Asari was just a waste sack, but then turned his eyes back to her. They flashed like a predator.

"Maybe I'll take you instead. Your pretty good looking, and I was thinking of selling off the bitch to the Batarians anyway."

He suddenly rushed forward making a dive for her throat. She slipped left and swung a biotic punch in to his midsection striking him back. He roared in indignation and came at her with a fist aimed at her head. She blocked the blow and sent a fist in to his.

He stumbled but came rushing in again. But he was getting angrier, and she was tiring quickly. She heaved as she continued to fight him. She would have to end it soon, or he would simply outlast her for energy. But he wanted to end it soon to.

"Watch it! He has a blade!" The now standing Asari yelled out to her. Distracting her.

She felt metal bite in to her arm and she yelled as she backed away clutching the wound.

The Turian's laugh was a demoniac low growl as he raised the blade to his mouth and snaked his long leathery tongue licking off the freshly taken blood.

"Maybe I'll just take your heart instead!" He growled as he rushed at her again. Her eyes were locked on his blade in hand as he dove in. The blade arced in a down swing to her neck and she bolted to the right. The Turian's momentum could not be slowed as he plunged the long blade in to his knee.

He howled in pain as he doubled forward, struggling to take the blade out.

_Here's my chance._ She screamed in her head as she swung her foot around contacting with his temple. The hit threw the Turian across the alley slamming him in to the side of the wall, the sound of crunching bone was music to her ears, and he failed to get up.

She got up and walked over to the body. The Turian's chest heaved in air as he moaned. She took some near by rope and bound his hands and legs together.

"Are you going to kill him?" The Asari asked, fear in her voice.

She stopped for a moment. _Do it...you know you want to...kill him..._ part of her mind rang. But she dispelled it. "No." She bend over him and yanked the blade from his leg, his screamed filled the alley way. "I have something far better in mind for him." She said.

"You human whore. Who do you think you are...I'll..." His tirade as silenced as she brought the blade to his face.

"You'll stay quiet if you value your ability to speak. And to answer your question; like I said I'm your worse nightmare. I'm the Butcher of Torfan." She said with a ruthless smile on her lips.

The Asari looked at her wide eyed.

She spoke to the Asari while she kept her focus on the now 'paled' Turian.

"Do know where this place is?"

"Yes." Quipped the Asari.

"Do you know how to get back to the Asari Temple?"

"Yes."

"Good. Tell the Priestess to call the Alliance. Have her tell them where they can find Lieutenant Shepard. Go." She said coolly as she sat down next to her taken prey, kicking him as she settled down. He growled in protest, but said nothing further.

"Yes. Yes. Right away!" The Asari flew out of the Alley. Her foot steps ringing in El'Jaid Shepard's ears.

Foot steps...

There was whimpering around her. "Shhhhh.." She said to the young children. She had found seven. Seven children who had escaped the Slaver's notice. They had been cloistered, hiding in the Hotel for the past week. There had been other older kids with her, but they had either been captured while trying to get munitions and food, or killed and burned out right. Now she was the only one left to watch over the kids.

She was alone. But she had made it work for the past four days.

Foot steps... down the hall

But time was up.

She turned to the oldest of the seven. A boy only eleven years old. His face was like everyone else's. Dirty, and his clothes torn.

"Bobby. Take the others and get out through the vents." She said softly.

The young boy looked like he was going to burst in to tears and she shook him. "Bobby, just do it!"

"oooo...okay." He murmured.

She grabbed her father's shotgun and fled like a wraith down the hall. It was pitch black night, but she let her eyes adjust to the dim light.

More foot steps sounded and she held to one of the room walls. The foot steps were heavy. Just one...

Good...

The armed figure walked past and the silently she slipped out behind him. _I could use his armor and weapons. Maybe he has food on him..._ She thought.

She inched closer to him wanting to catch him of guard. _Just a little...more..._ She licked her lips in anticipation, and she had the shot gun still aimed at the figure's back...just in case.

But her hopes were dashed as she stepped down on a piece of broken glass. The sound of crunching glass was her death sentence. The Soldier wheeled around knocking the shot gun with his assault rife. Her hand jerks the trigger sending a round shooting out a window.

"What the...!" The Soldier cried in shock as he comprehended the Wraith that had over taken him. She quickly recovered her ground as she sent a bolt of dark energy in to his chest flinging him to the ground. She charged forward, the audible _shachink _of her shot gun resonating down the hallway as she aimed it down on the fallen Soldier.

The flash light on his fallen assault rifle shone over him. Its light cascading across his armored chest, splashing the Alliance insignia on the breast plate.

"Alliance?" She said in shock.

The Soldier quickly nodded as he held his hands up. But she was on him sending her foot crushing down on him. Her aim did not waver but she began to tremble. "You bastard...You bastards promised!" Her face was twisted in torment and rage. "You promised, and you failed!" She screeched as she pushed the barrel against the Soldier's face mask.

The sharp hit from a rifle butt struck her from behind and she fell forward. The gun went flying beyond her reach. She soon felt a barrel pressed against her own back. Another hit when to her head as she struggled to get free.

"Back off! What the hell are you doing! Its a kid for Christ's sake!" A Marine yelled as he rolled her over shining a light in to her eyes. She couldn't move, but she could still hear.

"She jumped us! We didn't know if she was a Batarian or what! One of the marines cried.

"Four eyes Batarian, Two eyes human you dumb fuck!" The superior roared back as he roughly pushed the other.

Another soldier picked up her shotgun. "Well Lieutenant. Now we know who has been taking out the Slavers around here. Explains all of the bodies we have been finding with slug rounds in um. Tough little bitch."

"Sir! We have more kids! Found um crawling in to the vents!" Another cried.

The last thing she remembered hearing was, "Admiral. This is Lieutenant Ernesto Zabaleta. We have survivors. Repeat. We have found survivors, and one is a biotic."

Finally the Alliance shuttles came for her as the dawn stretched in to the day...

[][][][]

They peered in at her. Three sets of eyes scrutinizing the worn and weary figure that was seated in a cold metal chair, in the stark white room with her left arm bandaged, and in cuffs. Her clothes soiled.

The oldest of the three beings sighed heavily. "I think I've seen enough. I trust you can handle it from here Captain?"

"Yes Admiral, of course." The Captain replied.

The Admiral nodded, and also gave a nod to the other being, a Turian, in the room. "Specter."

The Turian just simply nodded and the Admiral calmly walked out of the viewing room.

"Tell me what do you think of her." The Captain asked the Turian. He listed back to listen to what the Specter would say. He eyed his old 'friend' curiously. The Turian was armored in a black combat suite, his brown skin sporting white markings.

"I heard that the Alliance is going to do a little reorganizing of their military proficiency levels. That the N7 designation is going away entirely. What a coincidence that it is occurring right after Torfan." The Turian said coyly.

The Captain said nothing at the comment.

"She's perfect for the Specters. But I still need to watch her before I can bring her candidacy in front of the Council." The Turian said simply cutting to the chase.

"Because she is human?" The Captain eyed his old 'friend' curiously. The Turian caught his eye knowing he wanted more than that.

"No. I don't care that she is human. I care that she gets the job done. She's charismatic, resourceful, dangerous." The Turian took in a deep breath." But most of all, she is driven and independent. She won't allow others, including the Alliance, to easily sway her."

The Captain narrowed his scrutinizing eyes on her again. "You don't see that her independent nature could cause more harm than good?"

"You mean like Torfan? No. The Council 'may' command the Specters. But, as you know my good friend, the Specters also need to be able to act on their own. For the Greater good."

The Captain's eyes fell to the floor. "Like Saren?"

The Turian raised his eye then went back to gazing at the woman in the interrogation room. "I would assassinate the entire Turian Senate, or poison a Salarian Dalatrass if it meant preserving peace."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

"You know, unofficially, I don't agree with what happened on Camala. But you have to let that go."

The Captain heaved in a breath but then spoke. "What about the Turian that was brought in with her?"

"What about him?" The Specter said off handily.

"Are you here to take him?" Anderson asked.

The Specter took in another deep breath. His motive masked. "I'm here to deal with him...yes."

"Alright." The Captain said. "Well I better get in there." He heaved.

And the two parted ways.

[][][][]

She rolled her neck and shoulders to work out the kinks that had developed. And her arm still burned from the cut. But it didn't matter now.

_A trial and a firing squad probably wait for me after I'm court-martialed for desertion, and Torfan..._

The door opened and in walked a single man. By the way he entered, by his pressed uniform, she knew he was a lifer...and then she read his name tag. Captain Anderson.

_Ah shit..._ She thought.

He sat down across from her, and pulled up his omni tool. "Lieutenant El'Jaid Autumn Shepard. You grew up on Mindoir with your family until you were age 16. After the Slaver attack on the colony, your file states you were taken to an orphanage on Elysium."

He looked up at her, her expression telling him nothing.

_For two years I drifted. Then I chose that while the Alliance had failed me; I could do better, I would show them how to do their damn job..._

"Two years later you show up in Greater Bangladesh back on Earth and enlist in to the Alliance Navy. Care to explain how you pulled that one?" His tone interested, but she didn't say anything and kept her gaze steady.

The Captain frowned slightly and narrowed his gaze. "Hard ass huh? I can work with that. Initially you were pegged to be an infiltrator. I can see why from your history. But were reclassified as a Vanguard due to your Biotics and weapons experience. In 2176 you were...asked...to take part in the Alliance N7 program, all top marks."

_If I didn't score top marks I wouldn't be sitting here, so lets just cut the bullshit already..._

"You were picked up two standard hours ago..." He started, but was cut off.

"Will you please cut to the chase Sir, and strip me of my rank now?" She asked her tone cold and empty.

The Captain raised a slightly amused eyebrow. "Lieutenant. Didn't Gunny Ellison also teach you to keep your mouth shut until your _Superior_ is done addressing you?"

She couldn't help the amused smirk forming on her lips, and the Captain continued.

"You were picked up two standard hours ago by a passing Alliance patrol after it was flagged down by you. With you, they brought in a Turian suspected of Slavery and Slave running. Two eye witness accounts state that you had fought him in self defense, and while defending an Asari. This occurred while you were on an authorized two day leave off base, for religious reasons. Does that sound correct, _Commander_ Shepard?"

She looked at him eyes wide open. _What the hell..._ Her mind gagged.

He looked back at her with the gaze that said she had better say yes.

"Ah...yes sir. Everything sounds correct." She quipped.

"Good." He growled and he keyed in to his omni tool. The cuffs disengaged and fell away from her wrists. She rubbed them still unbelieving of what had just happened.

"Now Shepard, off the record, why the hell did you leave base and what the hell happened to you out there?" His stormed in at her. "Wait, on second thought I don't even want to know!"

"Care to explain what is going on sir?" She asked.

He heaved out an annoyed sigh. "Just count your self lucky Shepard, and that you have a damn heart of gold." The Captain leaned back, still scrutinizing her. "The Alliance needs you. Hell! Practically the entire Admiralty is in love with you for what you pulled on Torfan. As a result, congratulations on your promotion, Commander." His tone was not entirely gleeful. "And the Council has seen Torfan as an entirely Alliance matter and out of Council jurisdiction because of what happened at Elysium, and since it was an anti-Slaver/Anti-pirate operation." He said tersely.

Her stomach twisted. _I'm the Butcher of Torfan..._

"Unofficially, they branded the entire operation as ruthless, destructive, and a power demonstration! They even asked for your court marshal!" He roared.

Again her gut churned. _I wanted to make those bastards pay. I had to make them pay..._

"Don't even get me started about last night. Half the damn base's worth of MP searching for you, and you suddenly appear like a damn ghost right in the middle of that slum with a hog tied Turian! They call that desertion and vigilantism. Do you understand that Commander." He fired back.

"Yes sir." Is all she could say.

"Good! From now on you are to report to me as you are now my executive officer. Now get out of here. Get some food, a shower, clothes, and a bunk. You look like hell. And be ready to go in three days time."

"Sir?" She raised and eye brow as she got up.

"The Admiralty wants me to look in to Pirate activities in the Hong system. By extension, and by your experience, that means you as well. Besides you need to keep out of the lime light and hunker down for a while. Wouldn't you agree Commander?

"Yes sir!" She quipped.

"Dismissed!" He barked.

As she walked out, she could not wipe the canary eating grin from her face.

_Commander Shepard... I like the sound of that..._

[][][][]

He heard the beeping of a machine as he strained to open his eyes. The room was large. It could have easily held twenty of the beds he was on. The world still gently spun around him as he lay in the bed. He tried to move his arms, but couldn't. His leg still burned from the wound.

_What the..._ His mind wondered feebly.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkened room he saw that he was strapped to the bed. Rage set in again and he struggled and strained against the straps which clutched him to the bed.

The beeping of the machine matched his heart which was beating faster.

_When I get out of here, I will find that human and make her mine!_ He growled, and continued to strain away.

A portal opened on the far end, and what he perceived as an angel appeared. The door then silently closed shut.

At first he blood started to run cold. Yet as the figure moved closer he could tell it was another Turian like himself, and he relaxed.

"Thank the Spirits your here!" He called out. "I knew the local assembly wouldn't let these filthy humans wrongfully hold me! A Slaver they called me! Can you believe that!"

The other Turian moved closer. "Infact...I can." The other said smoothly. Then his blood did run cold. The beeping of the machine increasing even more.

"Its y...your...Nihlus..." He eeked out and he struggled even more shaking the bed violently. But he was held firmly in place as the Specter in black circled around him like a Great White.

"You know. The prison sentence for Slave running and Slave possession is life."

His stomach started to twist, the machine beeping incessantly was driving him mad. "You can't believe them! I...I was attacked!"

"And so you were. By none other than the Butcher of Torfan. Wrong human to piss off. You know. She has...a thing...against slavers. I must say you really have a taste in finding trouble, or is it that trouble finds you?"

Fear gripped him even more. "Wha...are you going to let her finish me?"

The Specter laughed running a talon along the let side of the bed. He kneeled close and spoke. "No. I am not that cruel. I'm much more merciful than she is. I'm the Angel of death."

With that, Nihlus taking a fallen pillow in hand covered the other Turian's face. The Turian underneath strained, tearing into the bedding as he tried in vein to fight Nihlus off. The machine was going off in panic. Deafly Nihlus took a very thin blade he had been concealing and plunged it in to the neck of his captive. The other Turian let out a muffled scream before Nihlus turned the blade. With that the screaming stopped, and the machine returned back to a normal heart beat. He pulled out the blade. and not a mark could be told from the victim's neck. The Turian in the bed was staring blankly up at the ceiling.

The Specter then walked over to the medication drip machine and punched in a few commands. As he walked out, the beep of the heart monitor became slower, and slower, till it flat lined.

"Such a shame. A good Turian son died so young from a heart attack." Nihlus said coldly as he walked out of the room, and closed the door.


End file.
